


Former King

by ToraRyusei



Series: Fire [2]
Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2019-05-26 18:27:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15006758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToraRyusei/pseuds/ToraRyusei





	Former King

“So, what brings you here to the outskirts of town?"

 

That was the greeting given to Takii upon stepping into the man’s home. He was a stern looking gentleman of about fifty years of age, with salt and pepper black hair cut neat and short. His eyelids were mostly shut, with his eyes not even visible behind the tiny slit that allowed the man to see. It was not the mischievous fox face as his eyes might imply, but that of a wisened fox who had survived many attempts on his life by hunters. He was surprisingly friendly and even offered a complete stranger like Takii entrance. It was a rather large house, quite old as well. There on every wall, there were rows of books, shelves upon shelves of books.

 

“Just some business I had to deal with. I think I mentioned it on the phone, something of my family’s that was here.”

The reason for its expansiveness, for its large collection of texts, was that this home once used to be a library. Through a series of circumstances, this man had acquired the property as a newer, grander library was built closer to the center of town. The man who lived here was just one of the many curiosities of this town, although the purchase had been made a couple decades ago, and his name and act that gained him recognition among town had been mostly forgotten by people, and the people of Takii’s generation didn’t know there even used to be an old library out on the edge of town.

 

 _This town attracts all sorts of people, not just the supernatural,_ Takii thought to himself as he was brought to the end of the building, a room smaller than the rest, used as a living area on account of the chairs and coffee table in the middle.

 

“I hope you don’t mind me saying, but this place is pretty clean for someone living by themselves,” Takii remarked as he was offered the couch while the man took the large cushioned wooden chair. Both had that Victorian-era style which fit perfectly with all the wooden shelves of the library interior. It really gave the sense that they weren’t in Japan at all, but in some centuries old manor in England.

 

“I have housekeepers come by every other day to keep things nice and cleanly. I have a terrible dust allergy.” The man replied.

“Now…about that item you mentioned. I’m assuming it’s a book?”

 

“Ah, not exactly. It’s a family heirloom that I’ve been trying to track down for a while now, a sentimental thing really. It doesn’t really look like anything of value, but I got a tip from a family member that it was here.” A half-truth. While the item in question wasn’t exactly an heirloom, a sort of relative of his had assisted in tracking it down.

The head of the Snow Leopard family, Vesper. After being defeated by him, she started working for him to support her family. She was cold as her family lineage implied but efficient and a born fighter, just like Takii. Albeit her talents ranged in all sorts of espionage and types of modern military equipment that Takii had no idea how to manage.

“I’m not sure I have anything like that. Most of the things that had been kept in this library’s lost and found I either threw away or sold. I’m not sure how a family heirloom of yours would find its way to the library, either.

 

 

Unless you’re talking about the mirror.”

The atmosphere suddenly changed. It wasn’t Takii’s doing, his aura was not the one exuding a harsh pressure on the room. The Tiger broke out into a cold sweat, his mind a calamitous storm of questions as the man pulled from the inner pocket of his jacket the reflective glass shard, a piece of Yata no Kagami.

“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t play that boring game anymore. I’m a man who likes to get right to the chase.” Those slits opened to reveal the man’s eyes. Unnatural wasn’t enough to describe them. Pure white eyes on black sclera, a piercing combination that made it feel as if Takii had momentarily exited his body, such as the shock. Here he thought he’d seen everything, and yet there still things that would put him so on edge.

_Allow me to introduce myself. I am Balor. King of the Fomorians. Wielder of the Evil Eye. From one fellow king to another, I welcome you._

The man’s mouth did not move, but a voice was transmitted to Takii’s head. A sort of telepathy that easily bridged language barriers by delivering the meaning of a message for the recipient’s brain to decode. It was fascinating and terrifying all at once.

 

“How did you know who I am…?”

_Seems there are still many things you do not know about this mirror. Bending time to conjure the past is its principle power, but how you wish to use it is up to the wielder’s ability. Information on people and their history can be easily brought up, should you know how to do so. I ‘read’ up on you the moment you arrived._

As Balor explained, he sunk the mirror into his forehead. It seeped in with just a bit of resistance until it was fully submerged where his brain should be.

_This man you see was the original owner of the mirror. You can tell that he was quite the literary enthusiast, and as it turns out he had quite an interest in the ‘mythology’ of the Celts. For better or worse, the mirror picked up on his desires and began conjuring those people of the past for him. That was the moment I seized my chance and took possession of his body, along with that of the mirror._

Takii was speechless. In all the encounters he had with wielders of Yata no Kagami’s shards, never had the conjured being taken willful control of the mirror, or had known how to use it to such an extent as Balor. It was proof that he was the genuine article, the king of drought whose eye could extinguish life with just a single glance.

Balor continued with a muted amusement, as he spoke his form would alter itself to something more appropriate for the being. The loose brown jacket and dark blue trousers were replaced with robes of ebony, accentuated with coral hues at the ends of the sleeves and down the middle. Fingers were covered in slim gauntlets of gold, with sharp talon-like nails. His face changed to one befitting of regality, with dark copper hair long and unkempt which fell down to his collar. Eyes would shift to a dark blue like the deepest reaches of the sea.

Around his forehead, seven rings of pure gold which formed a sort of crown. Each ring was worn at a different angle, but they all met at a single point right at the center of his forehead. Even now, he could feel a harsh power radiating from that spot. There was no doubt, that crown was meant to hold the power at bay, that of his Evil Eye.

 

_Be at ease, Tiger King. The time for combat is yet to come. For now, I would like for us to converse as fellow rulers. We have much in common, you and I. Both our lineage precedes that of humans, and yet we both must yield our kingdoms to them. The only difference would be you do so willingly._

At last Takii broke his silence, speaking with a parched throat. He could feel it, the pressure of that eye had made the room one where oxygen was sparse and the air felt hot, a change made even when his eye was sealed off.

 

“I know your legend. I’d rather not associate myself with an enemy to mankind. Our similarities end at being fellow rulers, Fomorian King.”

_Not so, Tiger King. We have both suffered greatly due to humanity, yet you seem to willingly burden yourself with loss for their sake. You are not beholden to their safety, for you are a king, one whose safety comes before the people’s. Even now you suffer, your body scarred and mangled from battles for humanity’s survival, and what’s more, your vision seems to be failing you._

Another jolt ran up his spine. His blurry sight from his left eye he’d tried to ignore was called to attention, it made his face contort in an appropriate look of anger, and of shock.

 

“How did you…”

_I am not so dull that I cannot perceive such weakness in a man sitting in front of me. The way you struggle to focus your sight, it’s truly pitiful. Not fitting at all for royalty._

Balor stands, and only then can Takii note his towering height, greater than even Takii’s.

_There will come a time where you will choose your allegiance towards humanity or your own kind. As they stand, they cannot coexist peacefully. You are not strong enough to bring peace._

Cold damnation of Takii’s efforts sparked that rage which hid beneath the intimidated shell of the Tiger. He rose as well, smoldering golden eyes would meet serene dark hues.

“I don’t care what it is you say, this is the path that I’ve chosen. You…you’re just a fabrication of a dead man. A phantom, nothing more. Now…hand over that mirror.”

_You are asking to forsake my second chance at life, Tiger King. If it is the mirror shard that you want, you will have to tear it out of my skull. I’m certain you believed it was inevitable, however. It was our fate to cross swords. And once I am done with you, my eye shall raze every trace of human civilization in sight._

Snap. One of the crown’s rings is broken in two by Balor, falling to the ground with a dainty clank. The temperature rises again until the heat waves are visible fluctuations in the air. Takii’s body felt heavy, and he knew that any advantage he might have had thanks to agile limbs would be negated by this factor.

Balor summoned a blade. It was a long slab of obsidian metal, looking as if it were forged in magma. Small, sharp protrusions along the length of the sword walked the line between being a weapon merely meant for slaughter and an elegant armament meant only for royalty to wield. He raised the blade up with ease, holding it parallel to his eyes and pointed downward at an acute angle at the Tiger.

There was already an obvious difference in their skill and power, even without the eye Balor would be a threat, with it, he was a force of nature.

“You said something about the mirror having more than one way to be used...I’m betting on that.” Takii had not come unprepared. His hand brought out his own mirror shard, stowed away in his pocket and gripped tightly in his hand. To bring something from the past back to the present. If that was possible, then perhaps he could see ‘her’ one last time.

 

“You’ll have to forgive me, tarnishing your sacrifice like this, but I need you here, partner.” The mirror would reflect the user’s greatest desire or fear. If Balor was right, if such a thing could be manipulated, then what would be replaced by the mirror is…

 

“Nothing would make me happier than fighting together, one last time.” A sword of pure bronze, straight dual edge was the epitome of simplicity and belied its form shifting capabilities. It was the tsukumogami known as Fang, the blade that had perished defending him. Even if it was but a mere recollection of her taken from the past, seeing her once more imbued him with a confidence needed to face the bringer of calamity before him.

 

Snap. A second ring was broken and fell to the floor. The library’s many tomes immediately caught fire, and Takii only managed to escape the same fate through the extension of his _aura_ , serving as a protective barrier from the pure malice that Balor’s evil eye brought.

 

_Come, Tiger King. Taste my blade and make yourself a legend in this world without myths._

Takii darted forward with a swift kick to the floor. He would not falter; his resolve had already been tested. To protect humanity, he would do whatever it takes.


End file.
